


Down And Below

by Ser_Renity



Series: Final Arc [6]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, POV Second Person, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Senjumaru POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 01:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8037016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ser_Renity/pseuds/Ser_Renity
Summary: For others, it is the end of something. //goes with "Up and Above"





	Down And Below

**Author's Note:**

> I love these two but I am shit at Soul Society stuff bc I like so few of the shinigami so shout @ me in the comments if I fucked anything major up here

* * *

 

 

You surveyed the damage.

  
Àll of them had fallen or surrendered but you would not forget the feeling of the power brimming within Yhwach and his underlings. Dogs, all of them. You wanted to snarl at them in disgust knowing what you knew. These Quincy had no honor at all, no _nothing_ except for that spirit of servitude.

  
“Calm your temper,” you heard from close by, “The war is over, there is no need for anger.”

  
“There is always need for rightful anger,” you answered dryly, “Don’t worry, I won’t let it get in our way during the tribunal.”

  
It was Yachiru- _Unohana_ , as she asked you to call her now- coming to stand by your side, looking as ethereal as always even with one foot still in the grave. You had not expected to see her ever again.

  
“There aren’t many of them left to be put on trial,” she said and didn’t sound like she regretted the fact, “Perhaps I should have reconsidered allowing the ones I found to run.”

  
“You did _what_?”

  
It came out a little more indignant than you wanted- just vulnerable enough to make her smile.

  
“I don’t thirst for blood,” she said and cocked her head, “I killed the one that killed you, that was enough to satisfy me.”

  
You remembered the one among Yhwach’s elites who dealt the killing blow- a manic grin on his face, his sword strong enough to slice your chest in two.

  
As if possessed by the memory your hand moved to your throat, touching the flesh that was no longer rent asunder. You would not forget pain like that easily, not after a thousand years of isolation from the war of the outside world. It was time for you to join the fray again, to learn of the ways the Soul Society worked these days.

  
“I let one of them go and healed another,” Unohana explained to you, “They are angry children compared to us, dragged into this by Yhwach and his promises.”

  
“Angry and powerful enough to kill our division. You underestimate them, Yachiru.”

  
“The ones who followed him obediently are dead now,” Unohana argued, “The few left were those who deserted. I see no need hunting them down in the name of justice.”

  
You were tired of arguing with her- the last time you met she would have slaughtered them all without a second thought, that harrowing smile on her lips.

  
Unohana was smiling now, too, but it was not imbued with the power from beyond the abyss that she commanded. It was something else, something softer than death.

  
“I am glad I got to you in time,” she said, “It would have been a shame if our last meeting had already come to pass.”

  
You were flattered but hid it well.

  
“I suppose if we were to meet for the last time it should be more of a spectacle, then?”

  
“I would like for it to be more private, at least,” she said and it was so bold you had to steel yourself in order not to let your surprise show.

  
“I think that can be arranged.”

  
It was an answer given on a whim but you did not feel the need to take back the offer. After a thousand years, you thought, it was alright to be a little self-indulgent.

  
For now, however, you had funerals to arrange and Quincy survivors to judge.

  
“Did your pet make it out alive?” you asked her. There was no jealousy in your words; you were confident in your standing, there was no need for such unnecessary feelings.

  
“He did not, but his sword spirit is still around,” Unohana replied and lifted her hand, showing you the rugged blade she carried alongside her own, “I suppose I will have to watch over her for a while.”

  
She did not sound sad or bothered by it in the slightest- and you wondered if that temperance was something death had evoked.

  
“It’s a miracle _you_ are alive,” you spoke up and blinked slowly, keeping her in your sight, “Will you ever explain to me how you survived?”

  
Unohana laughed and you saw the scar on her chest as her hair swayed in the breeze, remembered tracing your fingers over the raised flesh.

  
“Minazuki refused to let us die,” she said, “There was a war outside we could not miss out on.”

  
“And it was your spirit, too, that made it possible to pull me back from the brink of death.”

  
It was a statement, not a question. You had felt the tendrils of the eldritch horror her sword summoned when she healed you- clinging to your very bones, black as tar and stained with blood. They smelled of decay, of times before your own and ancient devilry.

  
“You and Hikifune were the only ones whose souls I could recover in time,” Unohana explained, “The other three were too far gone for me to reach. There is a limit to every power.”

  
You did not voice your opinion on the matter- her power was so vast that you doubted her words.

  
“Well,” you said and straightened your shoulders, “I suppose it is time for the two of us to join the rabble down below, then. It seems you could make good use of qualified captains.”

  
“I could.”

  
The implication did not escape you.

  
“So you are going to accept the proposition? You are going to be our next captain commander?”

  
“It would be a waste not to at least give it a try, don’t you think?”

  
Her eyes twinkled with amusement and that was something that should not have come as unexpected as it did.

  
“You’ve changed,” you said and were not sure if you mourned the fact.

  
“So have you,” Unohana replied and smiled, “But I feel like we have time to make the best of each other’s presence again.”

  
There was a new vigor to her actions as though a death had turned back time. It was less of the violence and more of the healer she had pretended to be for so long. You were intrigued; a puzzle you could not yet solve even with a thousand arms.

  
“To a new beginning, then,” you said and inclined your head, “For better or for worse.”

  
Unohana laughed, the chime of a bell.

  
“You are being so formal,” she replied, “I will have to try and change that very soon.”

  
“You can try.”

  
It was a weak comeback- even now, with a war and death still fresh on your mind you knew that you had a soft spot for her.

  
She would try and you would let her- dancing a dance so close to the abyss of her power.

  
You returned her smile, just briefly, just for a second.

 

* * *

 


End file.
